One of my very best friends lives in Bangkok. We met in high school when he was a foreign exchange student. Visiting his country is one of the top things to do on my priority list, and I hope to get there before he graduates college.
As sort of an "ode" to him, I decided to make some Thai food for this praxis.
Before I get into everything, I just want to apologize for the few photos and the quality of those few photos. I was making three things at once and could only take photos when I had a chance.
With that said, let's get to the food!
I made two Thai dishes and a tea drink.
The tea drink is called Thai tea or Thai iced tea and, according to my friend, it is chad dum yen in Thai. This tea has a nice orange hue and is served with a thick layer of sweeten condensed milk or coconut milk on top.
It is typically made with ceylon tea, however, I could not find that and read that black tea can be used as a substitute.
I brewed about four bags of tea in large container and let it chill in the fridge while I made the food.
The first Thai dish is shrimp coconut soup, or tom yum kung. This is a hot and sour soup that can be made with or without coconut milk(which I learned about after making it).
As sort of an "ode" to him, I decided to make some Thai food for this praxis.
Before I get into everything, I just want to apologize for the few photos and the quality of those few photos. I was making three things at once and could only take photos when I had a chance.
With that said, let's get to the food!
I made two Thai dishes and a tea drink.
The tea drink is called Thai tea or Thai iced tea and, according to my friend, it is chad dum yen in Thai. This tea has a nice orange hue and is served with a thick layer of sweeten condensed milk or coconut milk on top.
It is typically made with ceylon tea, however, I could not find that and read that black tea can be used as a substitute.
I brewed about four bags of tea in large container and let it chill in the fridge while I made the food.
The first Thai dish is shrimp coconut soup, or tom yum kung. This is a hot and sour soup that can be made with or without coconut milk(which I learned about after making it).
To make for 4 you will need:
1 1/2 tsp veggie oil
1 tblspn grated fresh ginger
1/2 stalk lemon grass( I couldn't find lemon grass so I used the zest of one lemon and the juice of it)
1 tsp red curry paste
2 cups chicken broth
2 tbl fish sauce( Now, fish sauce is REALLY expensive, and when I read the ingredients saw that it really only consists of anchovies and some sugar. So I bought a tube of anchovy paste and used 3 teaspoons of it with a teaspoon of sugar)
1 1/2 teaspoons light brown sugar
1 1/2 cans coconut milk( I used two whole cans, What was I going to do with the rest of the milk?)
1/4 pound sliced shitake mushrooms(I had button ones on hand)
1/2 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tbls fresh lime
salt to taste
2 tbls chopped fresh cilantro
Heat the oil in a large pot on medium. Cook and stir the ginger, lemon zest and curry paste in the oil for 1 minute.
1 1/2 tsp veggie oil
1 tblspn grated fresh ginger
1/2 stalk lemon grass( I couldn't find lemon grass so I used the zest of one lemon and the juice of it)
1 tsp red curry paste
2 cups chicken broth
2 tbl fish sauce( Now, fish sauce is REALLY expensive, and when I read the ingredients saw that it really only consists of anchovies and some sugar. So I bought a tube of anchovy paste and used 3 teaspoons of it with a teaspoon of sugar)
1 1/2 teaspoons light brown sugar
1 1/2 cans coconut milk( I used two whole cans, What was I going to do with the rest of the milk?)
1/4 pound sliced shitake mushrooms(I had button ones on hand)
1/2 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tbls fresh lime
salt to taste
2 tbls chopped fresh cilantro
Heat the oil in a large pot on medium. Cook and stir the ginger, lemon zest and curry paste in the oil for 1 minute.
Slowly pour the chicken broth in and stir. Stir in the anchovy paste, sugar, and brown sugar and simmer for 15 minutes.
While that is simmering, let's get started on the second dish.
The "main event" was drunken noodle, or pud kee mao. This is a chinese influenced dish served around Thailand. "Kee mao" means drunkard in Thai, but no one knows how the dish got it's name. Some say it called for rice wine in the original dish, however, not a single drunken noodle recipe calls for it. Others say that it is so spicy you need to drink a few beers to be able to handle it. Either way, it is delicious.
To make for 4 you will need:
Veggie oil
7 ounce firm tofu, cubed and dried
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 tbl oyster sauce(now this is also REALLY expensive, so I just omitted this completely. The bottles I found really didn't have any real ingredients, so I figured that it wouldn't be missed)
1 tbl fish sauce(again, I used the anchovy paste with sugar)
1 1/2 teaspoon roasted red chile paste
1 teaspoon black soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1/2 large jalapeno, seeded and sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 red Thai bird chile( I coudn't find this so I used a cherry pepper instead)
1/2 pound pad thai rice noodles, cooked and drained
Fresh basil
Lime wedges for serving
The "main event" was drunken noodle, or pud kee mao. This is a chinese influenced dish served around Thailand. "Kee mao" means drunkard in Thai, but no one knows how the dish got it's name. Some say it called for rice wine in the original dish, however, not a single drunken noodle recipe calls for it. Others say that it is so spicy you need to drink a few beers to be able to handle it. Either way, it is delicious.
To make for 4 you will need:
Veggie oil
7 ounce firm tofu, cubed and dried
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 tbl oyster sauce(now this is also REALLY expensive, so I just omitted this completely. The bottles I found really didn't have any real ingredients, so I figured that it wouldn't be missed)
1 tbl fish sauce(again, I used the anchovy paste with sugar)
1 1/2 teaspoon roasted red chile paste
1 teaspoon black soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1/2 large jalapeno, seeded and sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 red Thai bird chile( I coudn't find this so I used a cherry pepper instead)
1/2 pound pad thai rice noodles, cooked and drained
Fresh basil
Lime wedges for serving
Start by getting your tofu nice and crispy. Heat the oil in a non-stick pan on relatively high heat and add the tofu. Keep turning until it gets a nice golden brown and crispy, about 5 minutes.
While that is crisping, whisk the chicken stock, chile paste, anchovy paste, soy sauce and sugar together.
Chop up all your veggies, and add them to a large pan that is hot with a glug of vegetable oil.
Cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes and then add the noodles and stir fry until brown, about 4 minutes.
Add the sauce and toss over medium high heat until absorbed. Fold in the tofu and basil, and set aside to finish the soup.
Getting back to the soup, stir in the coconut milk and the mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms are soft.
Add the shrimp and cook until pink and curled up, about 5 minutes. Stir in the lime juice and garnish with cilantro.
Serve yourself and get the tea out of the fridge. Get a tall glass, fill it with ice and tea. Now, if you have sweetened condensed milk, pour some on top slowly. It will create a nice thick layer.
I unfortunately bought the wrong type of milk...I bought evaporated. So mine looked like this:
I unfortunately bought the wrong type of milk...I bought evaporated. So mine looked like this:
When they SHOULD have looked like this:
Oh well. Better luck next time.
Sit down and enjoy some good food.
Sit down and enjoy some good food.
The drunken noodle was not as spicy as many of the recipes said it would be, but it was delicious all the same. The soup was nice and creamy, but not heavy. The tea, well, the tea tasted like iced tea with some milk added to it.
My boyfriend loved the food, but refused to try to the tea. Can't win them all.
My boyfriend loved the food, but refused to try to the tea. Can't win them all.
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